Reform reports Polanski to police over post about Farage’s ‘execution’

Nigel Farage has called for Zack Polanski to be arrested after the Green Party leader shared a pH๏τograph of a man wearing a T-shirt ‘planning his decapitation’ – with police confirming they are looking into the post.

Mr Polanski, 43, shared the image of the unknown bearded man, wearing sunglᴀsses, a rainbow-striped hat and making the ‘peace’ symbol, to his 713,000 followers on Instagram on Monday.

The man’s black top showed a guillotine with the slogan: ‘We’re only making plans for Nigel.’ It is thought the shirt references a 1979 song тιтle by English rock band XTC, but the addition of a guillotine suggests a darker statement.

By late afternoon on Monday, Mr Farage called on the Green leader to be investigated and arrested.

The Daily Mail understands Reform UK has reported Mr Polanski to Met Police, while Alex Wilson, Reform UK leader on the London ᴀssembly, will be raising a complaint to the Greater London ᴀssembly.

Just hours after it appeared, Mr Polanski removed the post, with a Green party spokesman stating he does not ‘support’ this ‘dangerous message’. 

However, the original post was shared widely on social media throughout Monday evening.

In a further development, the online business that designed the T-shirt removed the item from its website following a widespread backlash.

Mr Farage, 62, retweeted the image on X, writing: ‘This is what Zack Polanski has just posted on his Instagram. 

‘If I was to post anything as inciteful then I would expect to be arrested, and so should Polanski.’ 

Nigel Farage has called for Zack Polanski to be arrested after the Green Party leader shared a pH๏τograph of a man wearing a T-shirt ‘planning his decapitation’

Daily Mail understands Reform UK is in the process of reporting Mr Polanski to police over the post, which has since been removed

The party told The Daily Mail the post was ‘staggering’ given that it appeared just days after the brutal killing of Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe in her own home

Zack Polanski has deleted the post, which the Green Party said was part of a ‘collaboration’

Reform shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf told the Daily Mail the post was ‘staggering’ given that it appeared just days after the brutal killing of Reform UK spokesman Ann Widdecombe in her own home. 

He said: ‘Zack Polanski has posted to his 713k Instagram followers a pH๏τo of a man in a T-shirt depicting the beheading of Nigel Farage.

‘To do this just two weeks after our friend Ann was murdered is staggering. This is incitement to murder.

‘It should be treated as such by the police.’

Lord Walney, the government’s former adviser on political violence, called the post ‘sickening’.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘There must be serious consequences for Zack Polanski after he shared material implying the ᴀssᴀssination of another politician. 

‘This would be sickening and unacceptable at any time but it is even more serious in the present environment in which a senior Reform member has been brutally killed. 

‘The Green Party must be barred from participating alongside mainstream parties if it fails to take action against its leader.’ 

On Monday night, Met Police confirmed it was looking into the social media post.

In a statement on X, the force said: ‘Earlier today – Monday, 27 July – we received a third-party report relating to an image shared on social media. 

‘We take reports of this nature extremely seriously, and officers are conducting enquiries into the matter.’

A Green Party spokesman said the post had been deleted and appeared as part of a social media ‘collaboration’.

They said: ‘After attending a public event, Zack accepted a request to collaborate on a post with several images. 

‘Once this image was brought to his attention he immediately unshared the post. He unequivocally does not support this type of dangerous message.’ 

Manchester-based Sabcat Printing, which was selling the T-shirt for £20, listed it as ‘a cryptic design for difficult times’. It has since removed the item from its website

Following the furore, Sabcat Printing, based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, removed the design from its website.

Sold for £20, the business listed the clothing item as ‘a cryptic design for difficult times’.

It added in the now-deleted description: ‘Who could Nigel be? And why the guillotine? Whether it’s a nod to the XTC classic or a sharper bit of political satire, this design is for those who prefer their statements with a side of mystery.’

By late on Monday evening the T-shirt had been removed from the company’s website. 

Former Tory MP and Reform UK figure Ms Widdecombe was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in her remote bungalow in Dartmoor on July 9.

Prosecutors told a court last week she had been hit with a hammer 21 times as she ate her lunch.

Joshua Kerry, 28, from South Yorkshire, has been charged with the 78-year-old’s murder and remanded in custody ahead of the next hearing on October 9.